Sarafan inquisitors
Enemies article |image=Defiance-Enemy-SarafanInquisitor.png |caption=Sarafan inquisitors in Defiance. |introduced= Legacy of Kain: Defiance (2003) |appearances= Defiance }} Sarafan Inquisitors, sometimes known as Sarafan Spell Casters or Sarafan Mages, were a Sarafan variant enemy class that were encountered by Kain in Legacy of Kain: Defiance. They were notable for their use of magic to defend themselves and enhance their allies, which made them dangerous foes. They were seen predominantly in Kain's early chapters at the Sarafan Stronghold and the Pillars. Profile Sarafan Inquisitors were the spell casters of the Sarafan faction, encountered by Kain in Nosgoth's early history at the start of Defiance. The inquisitors had a uniform which consisted of metallic armor with yellow clothing underneath and they had their heads covered with the same cloth. They were armed with wrist mounted blades that they could use in close combat - however their preferred tactic was to remain at a distance and utilise several magic attacks, including Holy Projectiles (a "mortar like burst" ranged attack) and Radial Blast. Sarafan Inquisitors also frequently used their magic to enhance their allies using three spells: Heal, Amplify Damage and Berserk Shield - for this reason they were the highest priority in combat and should be targeted before the other Sarafan enemy classes. The inquisitors were first encountered in the third chapter of Defiance Pursue Moebius as Kain explored the Sarafan Stronghold of Nosgoth in Nosgoth's early history and were encountered again in the fifth chapter Reveal the Guardian Citadel as Kain explored the The Pillars in the same era. Abilities Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-Heal.png|Heal Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-AmplifyDamage.png|Amplify Damage Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-BeserkShield.png|Berserk Shield Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-HolyProjectiles.png|Holy Projectiles Defiance-Enemy-SarafanInquisitor-HolyProjectiles.png|"Holy Projectiles" Like other spell-casters the abilities of the Sarafan Inquisitors are notably used to empower and buff allies - giving other Sarafan units more potency and arguably making themselves a higher priority in combat. Spells used to power-up other Sarafan allies include: *Heal/Regeneration - The caster summons a yellow spell which heals one ally, allowing them to recover from damage inflicted. *Amplify Damage - The caster a red spell which manifests around the weapon of an ally and allows them to cause more damage when attacking. *Berserk Shield - the caster summons a green/red cloud like spell which allows an ally to "attack furiously" and not react to pain (although they will still take damage). The Inquisitors also have some defensive abilities of their own, but these are rarely referred to in the same way as the ally buffs. *"Holy Projectiles" - a blast of mortar-like projectiles which arc through the air and home towards the target and cause damage. *Radial Blast - a sudden shockwave that knocks the target back. Notes *Sarafan Inquisitors are not named in game. They are however titled as such in Legacy of Kain: Defiance: Prima's Official Strategy Guide where they are classified and grouped along with other Sarafan enemy types. Manuals do not refer to the specific class, but do label a subset of enemies titled as "Spell Casters" and identifies their spells and abilities - this sub-class apparently includes the Sarafan Inquisitors along with the Vampire hunter sorceresses, Cenobite summoners and a number of other magically attacking enemies such as Revenants and Statues. The Inquisitors are labelled as "sarafancaster" in game files. **The title "inquisitor" originates in the real world as an official in charge of an Inquisition: these were a system of institutions within the Catholic Church which aimed to combat heresy and religious dissent, often through forceful means. Inquisitor at Wikipedia Inquisition at Wikipedia **The abilities of the Sarafan Inquisitor class are somewhat inconsistently named and identified between the manual and the official guide. The guide notes the main ally abilities as "Heal", "Amplify Damage" and "Berserk Shield", while also noting the "Holy Projectiles" and "Radial Blast" abilities in its summary. The Manual - which is notably less detailed and only features abilities under a general section on spell casters - treats these differently: It notes the Sarafan use of Amplify Damage, but calls Heal "Regeneration" and calls Berserk Shield simply "Berserk" while implicating it as the same Berserker Rage used by Hylden revenants. Most notably the manual says the Sarafan Inquisitor class is able to use "Glyph Shields" - although this ability is seen used by other spell caster classes it is not used by the Inquisitor class in the final game. *The Sarafan Inquisitor rank in '' Defiance'' is something of a puzzle: the rank bears the same name as the high-ranking Sarafan commanders seen at the climax of ''Soul Reaver 2'' (Sarafan Melchiah, Zephon, Rahab, Dumah, Turel, Raziel and Malek), but the ''Defiance'' rank is clearly distinct from this, focusing on magic as opposed to skilled combat and with the ''Defiance'' Inquisitors behavior much closer to the Sarafan Warrior Sorceresses of ''Soul Reaver 2''. Like many of the Defiance Sarafan ranks, the design and role of the Inquisitor Sarafan ultimately does not match with the roles seen previous in Nosgoth's early history in Soul Reaver 2. Developer comments revealed that much of Kain's ''Defiance'' journey in Nosgoth's early history actually takes place 'some years' after the conclusion of Soul Reaver 2 '' and the ranks and organisation of the Sarafan may have changed in the interim. "Sarafan Crusader Notes" on Daniel Cabuco's online portfolio (Archived Notes at 'Legacy of Kain Wiki: Sources') *Many of ''Defiance Sarafan units bear similar color schemes to the former Sarafan commanders. The uniform of the Sarafan Inquisitors is a similar color to those worn by the Sarafan lieutenant Melchiah - who wore similarly mustard-yellow clothing underneath his armor. It is possible these colors were intended as a deliberate callback or the Sarafan using the martyred lieutenants as inspiration. Melchiah's yellow shade was also used for the Melchahim banners in the [[Events of Soul Reaver|events of Soul Reaver]] of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver **The cloth covering the heads of the Sarafan Inquisitors may indicate that they are bald, a look that may have been inspired by the Sarafan Warrior Sorceresses and Sarafan Inquisitor Melchiah - who was bald and shared the yellow color scheme. Their wrist blades also resemble those used by Sarafan commander Raziel to eviscerate Janos Audron, but on both wrists. *Along with the other Sarafan designs in Defiance the Inquisitors were designed with influences from the diverse sources such as Japanese martial arts and the Crusades. "Sarafan Crusader Notes" on Daniel Cabuco's online portfolio (Archived Notes at 'Legacy of Kain Wiki: Sources') A Sarafan crusader artwork on Daniel Cabuco's website bore this accompanying annotation which provided some background to the Defiance Sarafan design: "Sarafan Crusader Notes" on Daniel Cabuco's online portfolio (Archived Notes at 'Legacy of Kain Wiki: Sources')}} Gallery Image:Def-SarafanInquisitor.jpg|Sarafan Inquisitor Inquisitor.jpg|Inquisitor Sarafan Inquisitor (Defiance).jpg|A Sarafan Inquisitor Defiance-Enemy-SarafanInquisitor-HolyProjectiles.png|A Sarafan Inquisitor firing holy projectiles at Raziel Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-HolyProjectiles.png|Holy Projectiles Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-Heal.png|Heal Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-BeserkShield.png|Berserk Shield Defiance-Abilities-Inquisitor-AmplifyDamage.png|Amplify Damage Defiance-Model-Character-Sarafancaster.png See also *Sarafan *Sarafan crusaders *Sarafan archers (Defiance) *Sarafan zealots *Sarafan templars *Sarafan sorceresses *Sarafan commanders *Vampire hunter sorceresses *Cenobite summoners References Browse Category:Enemies Category:Enemies/Defiance Category:Enemies/Defiance enemies Category:Enemies/Enemies Category:Defiance